Can a Candidate Start Work Before IND Sponsorship Is Approved? Everything You Need to Know

Your engineering lead just found the perfect senior developer in Brazil. The hiring manager wants them started yesterday. Your CFO is asking why the headcount budget is sitting unused. And somewhere in the middle, you're staring at an IND application that won't be processed for weeks.

Can the candidate start work before IND sponsorship is approved? For most non-EU/EEA nationals coming to the Netherlands, the answer is no. Work authorisation must be in place before any paid work begins, regardless of signed contracts, relocation status, or how urgently the business needs them.

This creates real tension for mid-market companies scaling internationally. You're making critical employment decisions without dedicated immigration counsel, piecing together advice from vendors who each see only part of the picture. The pressure to move fast collides with compliance requirements that don't bend for quarterly targets.

Here's what you need to know to navigate IND sponsorship timing without creating audit exposure or compliance disasters.

Key Takeaways

• Non-EU/EEA candidates cannot perform paid work in the Netherlands until IND grants valid residence and work authorisation, unless they already hold a separate permit allowing work.
• Starting early, even informally, creates serious compliance and audit risk for Dutch employers, particularly in regulated sectors like financial services, healthcare, and defence.
• Limited pre-onboarding activities or unpaid introductory meetings may be acceptable if no productive work occurs.
• Remote work from the candidate's home country or a compliant contractor/EOR arrangement can sometimes bridge the gap while IND sponsorship is pending.
• A practical operational planning assumption used by Teamed for sponsored hires is to add a 4-8 week buffer between offer acceptance and an in-country start date to account for immigration processing steps.

Can a Candidate Work in the Netherlands Before IND Sponsorship Is Approved

IND sponsorship is a Netherlands immigration framework in which the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) recognises an employer as a sponsor and the employer applies for a residence status that includes the right to work for a specific foreign national.

The direct answer: no. Most non-EU/EEA nationals must wait until their permit explicitly allows work before starting any paid work in the Netherlands.

This applies regardless of a signed employment contract or whether the candidate has already relocated. The legal trigger is valid work authorisation from IND, not your internal start date or the candidate's availability.

Main routes include highly skilled migrants (kennismigranten) and intra-corporate transferees. In both cases, the individual must hold a residence permit or entry visa plus residence document that states work is permitted before performing paid work for the sponsoring employer.

What about candidates who already have Dutch work rights through a different basis, like a partner permit? That's a different situation entirely. But you need to verify the permit conditions carefully before allowing any activity. A pending application doesn't automatically extend existing work rights to a new role.

What IND Sponsorship and Visa Sponsorship Mean for Employers and Candidates

A recognised sponsor (IND) is an employer registered with the Dutch IND that is permitted to submit certain work-related residence applications using accelerated procedures and is subject to ongoing sponsor duties such as reporting relevant changes.

Here's where confusion often starts. Candidates may think an offer letter equals work authorisation. It doesn't.

IND sponsorship involves two distinct elements. First, the employer must obtain or hold recognised sponsor status with the IND. Second, the employer files the individual's application and receives an IND decision with work conditions. Both must be in place before work can legally begin.

Visa sponsorship means the employer takes legal responsibility for the residence and work authorisation, including reporting changes and meeting salary and role conditions throughout the employment relationship.

HR's role is closing the gap between what candidates expect and what's legally required. Many candidates coming from countries with different immigration systems assume that once they have an offer, they can start. That's not how Dutch immigration works.

When Work Authorisation Starts Under Dutch IND Rules

Work authorisation in the Netherlands is the legal permission for a non-EU/EEA/Swiss national to perform work in the Netherlands, granted through a residence document and, where applicable, a work authorisation route linked to the role and employer.

Work authorisation starts only when the individual holds the correct Dutch residence document or entry visa with a clear endorsement that work is permitted. IND approval alone may not be enough if the candidate must still provide biometrics, collect documents, or enter the Netherlands with an entry visa., though highly skilled migrants with a positive decision may start working without a residence document for up to 4 months.

Some documents limit work to the recognised sponsor. Others allow broader work. HR must read the permit conditions carefully, not assume.

Plan start dates by working back from the point of actual work authorisation, not the application submission date. If the candidate already holds a Dutch permit with open work rights through partner status, work may already be authorised. But the new employer must verify and record this before any work begins.

Risks for Employers If a Candidate Works Before IND Approval

For Dutch sponsored hiring, Teamed advises Finance teams to treat each slipped start month as approximately 8% of annual base salary in lost capacity cost for that role. But the cost of non-compliance is far higher than delayed productivity.

Legal risk comes first. Employing someone without valid work authorisation breaches Dutch immigration and labour lawLegal risk comes first. Employing someone without valid work authorisation violates the Foreign Nationals Employment Act (Wav), triggering fines and inspections. Individuals may face consequences too, including impact on future permit applications.

Sponsor risk compounds the problem. Recognised sponsors have additional duties under the IND framework. Breaches can jeopardise your sponsor status and increase scrutiny on future cases. One compliance failure can create friction for every subsequent hire.—recognition may be withdrawn after three administrative fines—and increase scrutiny on future cases. One compliance failure can create friction for every subsequent hire.

In regulated sectors like financial services, healthcare, and defence, unauthorised work raises governance and risk-management concerns that extend beyond immigration law. Auditors and regulators expect documented compliance.

A common misconception: paying from another group entity while the person is physically in the Netherlands without the right permit is still unauthorised work. The work location determines the compliance requirement, not the payroll location.

Exceptions and Limited Activities Before IND Sponsorship Is Final

Not everything requires work authorisation. But the line between acceptable pre-onboarding and illegal work is narrower than most companies assume.

Lower-risk patterns, if no productive work occurs and the person isn't physically working in the Netherlands without work authorisation, include introductory welcome calls and meet-the-team sessions from the person's home country, self-paced learning or reading internal documentation from home, and observing virtual sprint planning without contributing deliverables.

Higher-risk patterns that are commonly treated as work include producing billable or deliverable-focused tasks even if unpaid, attending on-site meetings or contributing to day-to-day operations in the Netherlands without work rights, and labelling activities as "volunteering" or "internship" when they resemble normal employment.

If the person already has a different Dutch basis to work, verify conditions before allowing any activity. Document any pre-start activities narrowly to demonstrate no genuine work occurred before authorisation. This documentation matters if questions arise later.

Remote Work and Contractor Options While IND Sponsorship Is Pending

A start-date condition clause is a contract term that makes the employment start date contingent on the employee obtaining and maintaining valid right-to-work and immigration permission for the work location.

When IND processing creates a gap between offer acceptance and legal start date, companies often look for interim solutions. Each comes with trade-offs.

Remote work from the candidate's home country resolves Dutch immigration constraints but introduces home-country tax, social security, and employment law obligations. You'll need either a local entity or an Employer of Record (EOR) to employ compliantly.

An Employer of Record is a third-party organisation that becomes the legal employer of a worker in a specific country, running payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, and local compliance while the client company directs day-to-day work. Choose an EOR when the candidate must start within 2-4 weeks, will work from a country where you lack an entity, and the role requires employee-level control.

Independent contractor arrangements start quickly but carry misclassification risk if the engagement functions like employment. Choose a contractor only when the work is clearly project-based, the individual controls how and when work is done, and you can tolerate reduced operational control.

None of these models allow physical work in the Netherlands without IND permission. They're for remote work outside the Netherlands only.

IND Sponsorship Timelines That Mid-Market Companies Must Plan Around

Mid-market companies that scale internationally commonly operate in the 200-2,000 employee range, which is the headcount band Teamed uses for policy design assumptions because it typically lacks in-house multi-country immigration and employment legal capacity.

Stages affecting timing include becoming a recognised sponsor if needed, preparing and filing the candidate application, IND processing, and document collection plus any entry visa steps. Published targets exist, but real-world timelines can extend due to case complexity, peak volumes, or authority queries.—recognised sponsors typically receive decisions within 2-7 weeks—but real-world timelines can extend due to case complexity, peak volumes, or authority queries.

Build contingency into your planning. Mid-market firms under board pressure often underestimate timelines, creating tension when dates slip. Adopt internal planning assumptions for sponsored hires and communicate them early to stakeholders.

When hiring multiple sponsored roles, cumulative delays can impact delivery and budget. Plan cohorts with conservative start assumptions rather than optimistic ones.

How Mid-Market European Companies Should Align Offers and Start Dates With IND Sponsorship

Choose conditional contract start date wording for all sponsored or right-to-work-dependent hires when there's any material risk of permitting delays.

Use conditional start dates for sponsored roles: "Employment will commence on the later of [target date] or the date on which you obtain valid work authorisation in the Netherlands." This protects both parties and sets realistic expectations.

Include a simple overview of the sponsorship process and likely waiting period in offer packs. Candidates who understand the timeline upfront are less likely to become frustrated or accept competing offers during the wait.

Create a standard policy for delayed permits covering how long to postpone, when to offer remote alternatives through EOR or contractor arrangements, and how to communicate changes. Have HR and Legal review templates so conditions tied to sponsorship are clear, fair, and compliant with Dutch law.

For multi-country hiring programmes, Teamed budgeting guidance assumes 2-4 internal stakeholder handoffs per sponsored hire. Standardised start-date clauses reduce rework and confusion across HR, Legal, Finance, and hiring managers.

How IND Sponsorship Differs From Work Visa Sponsorship in Germany and the UK

A Netherlands IND recognised sponsor status is an employer-level permission, while a Dutch residence permit or endorsement is an individual-level permission. An employer can be a recognised sponsor and still be unable to lawfully employ a specific candidate until that candidate's individual authorisation is granted.

The Netherlands uses recognised sponsors and often a combined residence/work permission for certain categories. The UK relies on a sponsor licence with distinct stages from certificate issuance to visa and entry clearance. The principle is the same: no productive work before authorisation. But processing culture and terminology differ, affecting how you stage start dates.

Germany can feel more decentralised with local authority interplay and separate steps. All three countries restrict work before correct permission. Differing process predictability influences cohort planning and internal buffers.

Don't copy a UK or German playbook into the Netherlands. Adjust start-date strategy to country-specific sponsorship mechanics. What works in one jurisdiction may create compliance gaps in another.

Alternatives to IND Sponsorship for European Companies Hiring International Talent

Employing a worker via EOR enables compliant payroll and statutory benefits in the worker's country of work, while a contractor arrangement avoids payroll but shifts risk to worker-status enforcement and often increases audit sensitivity for Finance and Legal.

Strategic alternatives depend on your circumstances. Independent contractors in the home jurisdiction offer flexibility and speed but carry misclassification risk and weaker integration if duties mirror employment. EOR in the home country provides compliant employment with local protections, adding vendor cost but smoothing onboarding and later transition to Dutch payroll.

Hiring into another group entity can work if you have simpler routes elsewhere, but may fragment team structure and create permanent establishment or management challenges.

A mixed model over time often makes sense: use IND sponsorship for core Dutch roles, EOR or contractor for short-term or experimental needs, then revisit as headcount and regulatory exposure grow.

How Teamed Guides Mid-Market Companies on IND Sponsorship and Start Dates

Teamed helps HR, Finance, and Legal leaders build a clear decision framework on when to use IND sponsorship, when EOR models make sense, and when contractor arrangements are genuinely appropriate.

Our advisors are supported by AI-driven decision tools monitoring regulatory changes across 180+ countries, delivering timely guidance that can affect Dutch and wider European hiring plans. We specialise in mid-market organisations in regulated sectors, where each international hire carries significant compliance weight and Dutch decisions must align with broader European strategy.

Teamed can review your Dutch and European hiring practices, flag where start dates are over-promised, and co-design a consistent policy that leaders and auditors can follow.

Talk to the experts to discuss IND sponsorship timing, global employment strategy, and how to keep growth aligned with compliance expectations.

FAQs About IND Sponsorship and Candidate Start Dates

Can a candidate volunteer or attend training before IND sponsorship is approved?

Activities that resemble real work are risky even if unpaid. Limit to non-productive pre-onboarding like introductory meetings or self-paced learning from home, ensuring no actual work is performed in the Netherlands.

What happens if we agreed a start date but IND sponsorship is delayed?

You generally must postpone until work authorisation is granted. Conditional start-date wording in contracts helps manage expectations lawfully and reduces breach-of-contract exposure.

Can a candidate who already lives in the Netherlands start work while a new IND application is pending?

It depends on the current permit's work rights. Check the permit conditions carefully, as a pending application doesn't always allow work in a new role or for a new employer.

Can we use a contractor or freelance agreement in the Netherlands while waiting for IND approval?

A contractor label doesn't remove the need for work authorisation if the person is physically in the Netherlands. Misclassification brings tax and labour risks on top of immigration violations.

How should we handle IND delays with hiring managers and candidates?

Communicate proactively about the process and potential delays. Apply a clear internal policy on when to offer remote alternatives or when to reconsider the hire entirely.

What is mid-market?

In Teamed's context, organisations with roughly 200-2,000 headcount or revenue in the eight- to low ten-figure range in local currency. Growing fast but not yet enterprise scale, with sophisticated needs but without enterprise resources for dedicated global employment counsel.

Does starting work early affect the candidate's future Dutch residence permits?

Yes. Unauthorised work can be considered by IND in future applications and extensions, creating long-term risk for both candidate and employer. The short-term pressure to start someone early can create years of complications.